When is the Hajj? - Arif Khan, Alberta

Here we will show what Islam is not and how it is refuted by the Quranic Message.
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Dr. Shabbir
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When is the Hajj? - Arif Khan, Alberta

Post by Dr. Shabbir »

While forwarding this article from Arab News I note that
it already Thursday, 21, December, 2006 (01, Dhul Hijjah,
1427)whereas in Pakistan it is Thursday, 21, December, 2006
(29, Dhul Qa`dah, 1427)

The Pilgrimage — 5: When Haj Becomes Due
Adil Salahi, Arab News


We know that the pilgrimage is a duty of all Muslims,
provided that they are able to undertake the journey. An
important question, therefore, is to know when the duty
becomes due so that we can take the necessary steps to
fulfill it.

In order for the pilgrimage to become due, a person must be
sane and must have attained puberty. Moreover, he must be
able to afford and undertake it. This means that an insane
person is not required to do the pilgrimage, nor is it
acceptable from him. A child below the age of puberty may
do the pilgrimage, and his parents or guardian who take him
on pilgrimage will also be rewarded for that pilgrimage,
but the pilgrimage in his case is not a duty. Therefore,
when that child attains puberty and the pilgrimage becomes
a duty applicable to him or her, they are not considered to
have fulfilled it because they were under age at the time
when they did the pilgrimage. This is the same like
offering Dhuhr prayer before it is due. It would not count
as an obligatory prayer, but as a voluntary one. When Dhuhr
falls due, the person concerned is required to offer it
then.

The ability, according to scholars, is both physical and
financial. In the early generations of Islam, scholars used
to speak of food and transport and the ability to provide
for oneself during the journey. Nowadays, there are other
expenses involved in undertaking the journey to do the
pilgrimage. Therefore, with food we must include what a
pilgrim reasonably needs during his stay in the pilgrimage
until he returns home, such as a reasonable accommodation
and any fees he may have to pay on his journey, as in the
case of pilgrims who must travel through one or more
countries and have to pay fees for their visas. While in
the past transport meant a camel, owned or leased, today we
may speak of fares of a plane or a boat.

It is a condition of financial ability that the prospective
pilgrim should have enough to cover all this in excess of
what he and his dependents may need of accommodation, food,
etc. If he has incurred some debts, whether to other people
or to God, as in the case when he may not have paid a
portion of the zakah due from him, the money he needs for
his journey should also be in excess of the money required
to cover his debts, or he should first settle his debts.

If a person does not own enough to cover his expenses
during his pilgrimage, but someone else, say a friend or a
relative, or any other person or a company, offers to pay
his expenses, it is not obligatory for him to accept the
offer. If we were to say that he must accept, then the
pilgrimage becomes due from him. It is not the case,
because the financial ability must be his own.
Nevertheless, if he accepts and performs the pilgrimage,
his action is valid and he is considered to have fulfilled
his duty.

It is important to point out that Islam takes everything
into consideration. In some cases, accepting such an offer
may put the person concerned in a position of moral
indebtedness to the one who has offered him that. What
Islam is telling him is that if he declines that offer, he
incurs no sin and he has not failed to fulfill his duty.
This applies even to a woman whose husband offers to take
her on pilgrimage. She does not have to accept his offer.
If she declines, she commits no sin. She is not even
negligent of her duty. Indeed, she may have a very good
reason for declining the offer.

It may be asked whether a person should change his
lifestyle if such a change will enable him to meet the
expenses of pilgrimage. There can be no rigid rule in this
regard. Let us take the case of a married couple who have
no children and are unlikely to have any, but the man has a
big house or a villa in which he lives with his wife, yet
does not have much money of his own. If this man were to
sell his house and buy a smaller but perfectly adequate
one, he will have the required money. In this case, he
should sell it and offer the pilgrimage. On the other hand,
if the owner of such a house needs it for the accommodation
of his family, or to use its rent for maintaining his
dependents, he need not sell it. If he has some articles
that are in excess of his needs, he should sell them to
meet the expenses of his pilgrimage. On the other hand, a
person is not required to reduce the level of his stock in
his business if that will mean a decrease in his regular
income. If he has tools which he needs for his work, he
need not sell them, but if he does not particularly need
them, then he should sell them and use the proceeds of such
sale to cover the expenses of his pilgrimage.

Debt is another point of consideration. The normal
situation is that a debtor need not offer the pilgrimage
until he has settled his debts. However, if he has bought a
car on installments and his regular income makes him
perfectly able to pay each installment on time until he
clears the debt, and yet he has enough money to meet the
pilgrimage expenses, he should do the pilgrimage. A clearer
example is that of a person who has bought his house on
mortgage. He is perfectly able to pay the monthly
installments, and has enough money to pay for his
pilgrimage, he must not wait until he has settled the
mortgage. He should offer the pilgrimage now that he has
the means to do so.

If a person is financially well off and can easily afford
to pay for his pilgrimage, but has some physical
disability, or illness that is unlikely to be cured, the
pilgrimage duty applies to him, but he is not required to
do it in person. He must engage someone to undertake the
journey and perform the pilgrimage on his behalf, paying
all his expenses, including obtaining the necessary visas
and paying any fees incurred to have a passport, etc. The
person so hired must have already offered his own
obligatory pilgrimage and must declare at the point of
entering into the state of consecration that his pilgrimage
is on behalf of the person who hired him. He should not
charge any fee for doing this substitute pilgrimage.
However, if he agrees with the person concerned a lump sum
to cover all his expenses, and he manages to spend less
than the sum paid to him, he can keep for himself whatever
is in excess of his actual expenditure.

When a person finds himself in a position where he meets
the ability conditions to offer the pilgrimage, is he
required to do it immediately or can he wait for a couple
of years or more before doing it? Scholars differ on this
point, with some schools of thought maintaining that the
duty becomes binding now. Others say a delay is acceptable.
Perhaps the view that it should be done immediately enjoys
stronger validity. To start with, if he puts it off till
next year, he cannot tell whether he will be alive or fit
enough next year. If he dies, someone else will need to do
it on his behalf. He would have missed a highly gratifying
experience. On the other hand, he cannot tell that his
means will continue to enable him to undertake the
pilgrimage in future years. Therefore, doing it now, at the
first occasion, is far better.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5§ion=0&article
=90155&d=21&m=12&y=2006&pix=islam.jpg&category=Islam

Arif N. Khan
__._,_.___
Wassalam,
SA
Dr. Shabbir
Posts: 1950
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 12:46 pm
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When is the Hajj? - Arif Khan, Alberta

Post by Dr. Shabbir »

Dear brother Arif,

Hajj is ordained to all mankind, practically representatives of townships, as a conference to attain unity and seek ways to make this planet a better place to live.

3:95 Say, “Allah has declared the Truth. Follow, then, the Creed of Abraham, the upright who shunned all falsehood. For, he was not of those who choose authorities besides Allah.”

3:96 In fact, (he erected) the First House (Sanctuary or Meeting Point) appointed for all mankind, that is at the blessed Bakkah (later known as Makkah), for it is to serve as a Beacon of Light for all humanity (in order to regain their lost unity 2:125).

3:97 Therein are clear Messages (to achieve that coveted goal and recall) how Abraham once took his stand (against all divisions of humanity and was granted the leadership of all mankind 2:124-125). Those who enter the System symbolized thereby shall find inner peace and external security. Hence, joining the Hajj Convention at this Meeting Point for the Cause of Allah alone is due on all people who (understand the noble objective and) have the circumstantial means to undertake the visit. One who denies (this Wisdom, should know that) verily, Allah, the Rich is Self-Sufficient, want-free of any peoples.

[Mankind can realize the blessings of unity by rallying around this Divinely appointed Center 22]
Wassalam,
SA
abdullah
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When is the Hajj? - Arif Khan, Alberta

Post by abdullah »

Salam Dr. SA

In the light of your authentic research, can you please tell us how many Unbelievers/ Book holders were present in the auspicious occasion of Hajjatul Vida (the last hajj of Prophet SAW).

Thanks
Dr. Shabbir
Posts: 1950
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 12:46 pm
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When is the Hajj? - Arif Khan, Alberta

Post by Dr. Shabbir »

Dear Maulvi Abdullah Saheb, AA

Isn't it common knowledge that the entire Arabian Peninsula had embraced Islam at the time of Hajjatul Widaa''? - And no one was debarred from joining the Congregation.

Secondly, should we look to history in the presence of the clear Qur'anic Injunction that Hajj is due to Allah for all mankind? - and not just Muslims. But, it is difficult for the Mullahs to accept the pure Qur'an alone without falling into the quagmire of conjecture.

LILLAHINNAASA HIJJUL BAIT

3:96 In fact, (he erected) the First House (Sanctuary or Meeting Point) appointed for all mankind, that is at the blessed Bakkah (later known as Makkah), for it is to serve as a Beacon of Light for all humanity (in order to regain their lost unity 2:125).

3:97 Therein are clear Messages (to achieve that coveted goal and recall) how Abraham once took his stand (against all divisions of humanity and was granted the leadership of all mankind 2:124-125). Those who enter the System symbolized thereby shall find inner peace and external security. Hence, joining the Hajj Convention at this Meeting Point for the Cause of Allah alone is DUE ON ALL MANKIND who have the circumstantial means to undertake the visit. One who denies (this Wisdom, should know that) verily, Allah, the Rich is Self-Sufficient, want-free of any peoples.

[Mankind can realize the blessings of unity by rallying around this Divinely appointed Center 22]
Wassalam,
SA
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